Something Missing
by Sesshy'sSannah
Summary: Sesshoumaru, Jareth and Sephiroth are all as close as brothers. But, when that relationship begins to fall apart will the men allow new relationships to develop? xover wFFVII, Labyrinth, and Inuyasha
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The trio, as close as brothers, stood on the hill looking over the cemetery that held the grave of one's executed biological brother. Their silver and blonde hair flew in the breeze, and their eyes flashed in hatred, directed at everything but each other.

One was tall and aristocratic. His fine, almost feminine features were set in a frozen mask. His cold golden eyes and knee length silver hair were both outside of human norms, and that was fine as he wasn't and never has been human. He was Sesshoumaru, the killing perfection. He was a demon, in the Japanese sense of the word. Not a worker of evil for the devil, but just a nature spirit that is superior to humans.

Another was also tall and aristocratic, but had a more masculine cast to his features. He had the darkest hair of the group, which didn't mean much with his wild honey blond hair cut to chin length and spiked up, elegantly of course. God forbid the ex-Goblin King Jareth be anything other than elegant. His eyes, one crystalline blue and the other violet purple, looked out with a mixture of cynic humor and despair, speaking eloquently of loss. No longer the Goblin King, not since Sara, but still one of the most powerful fey.

The last was the tallest of the group. His feature were hard and uncompromisingly male. Only the full and sensual lips and elegant curve of the nose kept him from being too masculine. His silver hair reached mid-thigh and was cut into sharp bangs framing his pale blue eyes looking out at the world with hatred. He was the only one who was once human, but that changed when a couple of scientists decided to perform experiments with alien DNA and human soldiers, thus creating the cold killer Sephiroth.

"So, Sesshoumaru, the stain on your family line is finally cleansed." Jareth said provokingly, anything to end the silence.

Golden eyes sharply glanced at him. "I am disappointed that I am the last pureblood left to carry on my father's legacy. Even though Inuyasha was a hanyou, and thus beneath my notice, he was of my father's blood and deserved respect from others."

"Speaking of legacies, what is to be done about your brother's pregnant widow? Your brother did not allow her any job training, believing that women should not work. Such an outdated idea. On my planet she would have been required to receive some sort of job training." Sephiroth's voice, just as hard as the rest of him, interrupted the conversation.

Sesshoumaru thought. "I suppose we shall have to put her up, since her house is being repossessed for gambling debts run up by my fool of a hanyou half brother and I see no reason to stop that process. She is carrying the heir to my family's fortune, so until I have one of my own her place is the family's ancestral home." he replied.

The other's nodded. All of them, though not blood brothers or even of the same species, were closer than most families and all lived in a large Japanese estate just outside of Tokyo, Sesshoumaru's ancestral home. The other two were homeless before Sesshoumaru found them. Jareth lost his castle and Labyrinth when he lost the game to Sara. Sephiroth, however, has never had a home, rather staying in the military bases of his world until his hatred of the world grew too much. He couldn't stand living in such close quarters with others who still believed in the rightness of their commanders and he found a way off of that planet.

Flashback

After he crossed over, he found himself in the middle of 1980's Tokyo. His senses afire, now that he was in a new world who knew what effect this world would have on his powers. He sensed other centers of power, but nowhere near this place. Not knowing what else to do, and desiring to learn more about this new place he found himself in, Sephiroth took to prowling the seedy bars and back alleys of Tokyo, almost feeding off of the despair and hopelessness in the air. He still sensed the other powers, but they were in the place that he found only the rich lived in. Wanting to avoid confronting the other powers until he learned more about them, he stayed only in the poorer sections.

One night, he felt something different. In one of the seedy harbor side bars he frequented, he felt power such as he had never felt. Drawn to it, the silver haired ex-SOLDIER went in. All of the patrons except one cowered back from the intimidating figure dressed in a leather trench coat, black wife beater and leather pants with black combat boots. He looked around. The power was centered around a pale golden haired figure dressed in tight black jeans, a black poet's shirt, black biker boots and black leather gloves. The man was slamming back pure vodka like it was water. Sephiroth walked up to him.

The man looked at him with dual colored eyes. Sephiroth was slightly taken aback by the despair in the man's eyes. "What do you want." he said in a rich baritone voice. "I can feel your power. Why do you sit here and do nothing?" Sephiroth said, curious about why this obviously powerful being would sit here and do nothing, while all of the other beings of power were living in the rich side of town, and curious about why he cared.

The man's eyes flashed. "I don't see how that is any of your business. Besides, I can also sense your power. Why do you do nothing?" he replied. Sephiroth shrugged. "I have found nothing worthy of wasting my time. I am from another world, where even the civilians are better warriors than the soldiers of this planet. I was made by scientists playing with genes from the calamity Jenova. I escaped that planet that I hate so much, to this one, which is even worse. This entire world is so worthless that I see no way to redeem it. And I am not going to waste my time trying to help the loathsome worms crawling about on the surface of the world." The other man nodded.

"I am Jareth. I was once a king with hundreds of servants to do my bidding, and a maze that none but myself could solve. But all of that changed when I tried to make a woman-child happy. She asked to be free of her responsibility, and when I took him away she wanted him back. I gave in and granted her desire for adventure, thinking she would be grateful and take away my loneliness by staying with me. But, she spoke that incantation and broke my power in the process. She returned here and my goblins rose against me, no longer trusting in my protection. I was cast out by the labyrinth itself, consigned to this world where the girl lived. I am still a prince of the Unseelie Sidhe court, but no longer a king in my own right. And, like you, I have no wish to rule over such worthless beings as humans. Even the lowest of my goblins could defeat a crowd of humans with the magic contained in it's pinkie."

"Then why do you both wander among the human's that you find so offensive?" They heard a deep, icy voice say. They both looked at the golden eyed stranger. He was definitely out of place in his three piece business suit and long silver hair that was shining even in the low light of the bar.

"I sense a mass of power in my domain and I come to find a pair of beings with such power and they are wasting it, staying amongst the humans that both claim to despise."

"Just who do you think you are, coming in here and saying such things." Sephiroth growled.

"I am Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands." He replied. "Why do you not come with me, and I can show you how to put your power to good use."

The other two looked at each other. "Well, I have nothing better to do. I suppose it is better to do something rather than nothing." Jareth replied.

Sephiroth also agreed, since he was becoming bored with noone to kill, and this 'Lord of the Western Lands' seemed like the kind of guy to have a lot of enemies, and maybe he would share some with Sephiroth.

That was three years ago. Sesshoumaru took both of the extremely dangerous beings in and taught them about the world they now found themselves in. They soon became as close as brothers. All of them were so alike, and instead of driving them to compete as it would others, it brought them closer.

They were all extremely hard and cold men, but they also had a center core of loneliness held within. Sesshoumaru had the urge to become the best that he could, to try and fill the void within himself, and he used this to become one of the most powerful people in the world. Kings and Presidents obeyed his commands, and every government in the world owed him money. He was the owner, main shareholder, CEO of Taisho corp., the most powerful company in the world.

The other two decided to help him in this endeavor. Not out of any desire to hold the same kind of power in the human world, but out of the desire to both be of some use to the demon that assisted them and to kill some of the most powerful humans in the world. Anything that could be a challenge and keep the encroaching boredom and loneliness from completely conquering their beings.

The outcast sidhe and the ex-SOLDIER soon became inseparable. They both looked upon Sesshoumaru as boss for the first year or two. But, when they came upon the demon drunk and raging about his father dying and his younger half brother getting custody of his younger sister Rin, the relationship dynamics changed. Sesshoumaru didn't hold onto his cold mask so much in their presence, becoming just a little less uptight. Jareth's smooth and sarcastic conversation helped a lot. Sephiroth's ability to give him a challenge in the dojo helped almost as much.

Their bond was cemented even further when Rin died of inoperable cancer. As they stood over the grave of the only female that Sesshoumaru ever had any feelings for, both men declared brotherhood to the cold businessman, and Sesshoumaru accepted. They were both promoted to being co-CEO's, not because they changed their feeling towards humans but so each one had an equal share in the company's assets, like true brothers would.

End Flashback

"We need to arrange a meeting with Kagome and extend our offer." Sesshoumaru declared.

"Are you sure that you can stand being around a lowly human, Sephiroth?" Jareth asked.

"Are you? I live in the guest house. I have recently asked if I could have a kitchen installed so I don't need to come into the castle for anything but meetings with Sesshoumaru. However, you still live in the guest room and eat in the dining hall. You have no choice should you wish to avoid her." he pointed out. "Besides, it is not like we have a choice. She has nowhere else to go, and honor dictates that we keep the widow of a fallen brother safe and healthy."

"Well, maybe having a new influence will change something." Jareth said.

His brothers looked at him in shock (not that you could tell. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows twitched and Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly). They knew that they were all feeling the ennui of years without a true challenge, but they did not think that he was changed that much.

"Very well. I will call her tomorrow." Sesshoumaru said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sesshoumaru let loose a low groan as she ran her fingers lightly along his erection. Her full lips smiled as she engulfed him in her womanly heat. Sesshoumaru growled softly as his hands gripped her hips, assisting in her bouncing on top of him.

"Oh, kami, oh, milord, faster, faster, OHHH!" the woman cried out as her orgasm wracked her body.

Sesshoumaru growled again and flipped them both over and continued thrusting. Each thrust was matched with a grunt from the female under him. Soon, he felt his completion. He rolled off of her.

"You may go. This Sesshoumaru will see you again next week" he said as the woman collected her clothing.

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama" she said as she collected the payment given to her every week when she helped Lord Sesshoumaru with relieving his tension.

Sesshoumaru didn't acknowledge her. He laid in the black draped king-sized bed and wondered if the emptiness he felt within would ever fill.

Sephiroth smiled grimly as he forced open the window to the bedroom of Takaru Tsukiru, one of Japan's leading businessmen. He recently aquired one of Sesshoumaru's business interests illegally. Nothing that can be proven, but Tsukiru definitely had inside information and the documents turning over the majority of shares looked suspicious. Since this sorry excuse of a human slug turned his back on Japan's noble history and tradition of Bushido, honor in all dealings with other's and with yourself, Sesshoumaru felt no guilt in sending Sephiroth to take Tsukiru's life as he would if Tsukiru had a modicum of honor.

Sephiroth had bypassed the security system with relative ease. 'Twenty years and they can't come up with anything beyond video cameras and motion detectors. Pitiful_.'_ He thought. His long silver hair was tightly braided and covered with a black hood. Every inch of his skin was covered with either high tech, flexible Kevlar plates or leather. No fibers from clothing, no skin cells, nothing that could give the sorry excuse of a CSI team any clues as to the death of Tsukiru. Nothing connecting to Sesshoumaru either. Not only did the dishonest business take over one of the companies under a pseudonym of Sesshoumaru's, but there are documents for Sephiroth to plant in the office. Jareth, a master hacker, has left further copies of documents indicating a hostile takeover in process on his computer and in the company files leading the police to implicate another competitor of Sesshoumaru's in the murder.

Sephiroth flowed into the room like a piece of darkness come to life. The fat Japanese man lying in the bed or his whore made any move. Sephiroth looked at the woman with annoyance, since he had to kill her too. Not that he minded (he didn't discriminate. He killed anything) but she wouldn't provide any challenge.

He went out the door, to the office that was just down the hall according to the blueprints of the house that Jareth had retrieved for him. He felt no fear because the video cameras were on a continuous loop of an empty hall way and a peacefully sleeping Tsukiru. He placed the documents in the locked drawer after easily bypassing the microchip and password protected drawer that the most sensitive documents were placed in. He knew that the vice president of the company that Tsukiru owned would be most helpful to the police so that the suspicion wasn't thrown on him. It has been this way for a hundred stealth operations just like this one. He shook his head at the predictability of humans and returned to the bedroom.

He brought out his matte black, twelve inch carbon steel blade and efficiently slit the throats of Tsukiru and his lady friend.

He sighed as he wiped the blade with a kerchief brought for that purpose and re-sheathed it. He walked back to the window. He only had five minutes left of the continuous loop set up on the cameras, but he wasn't worried. That was more than enough time to leave the disgustingly palatial mansion set on the outskirts of Tokyo.

He called Jareth as soon as he went over the wall and approached his bike. The latest in motorcycle technology, almost totally silent, goes 0 to 120 in five seconds, and gets great gas milage. Mustn't forget the environment when searching for assassin's get-away vehicles after all.

"Mission accomplished?" Jareth's smooth baritone came over the ear piece.

"Every time you say that. What do you think the answer is to that cliched phrase is?" Sephiroth snapped.

"Pardon me, mon frere. I must amuse myself somehow, but dare I say that your reply was more entertaining than usual?"

"I am just bored. This was no challenge at all. In, plant documents, kill a human or two, and out. Same as just about every other job for the last two years."

"Well, here is something to alleviate that boredom. Your renovations in the guest house have hit a snag, of the termite variety, and so you are required to stay in the guest wing of the castle while your place is being fumigated and the kitchen finished. And to make matters much more amusing, Kagome, Inuyasha's widow has just received her invitation to stay here and has accepted. She will be here within the next few days. Most of her valuable possessions are being repossessed, she comes with nothing but clothes, pictures and a few sentimental items. Don't you just feel for her?" Jareth said, a slight tang of bitterness flavoring the words. Jareth was cast out of his kingdom with nothing but the clothes on his back.

"Indeed. I will be home in twenty minutes, tell Sesshoumaru that the exercise was a success." Sephiroth said as he hung up. He was so not looking forward to living with a human female for the next few weeks.

'the things I do for my brother's honor.' he thought to himself as he drove into the night.

Jareth smiled as he hung up the phone. He loved baiting the volatile extraterrestrial. His reaction were so amusing. Able to control all emotions but anger. 'And that is his weakness. His hatred of all living beings is merely a reflection of his hatred of himself. One would think twenty years of living with Sesshoumaru and I would help his feeling of being separated from the human race, since neither of us are human and have no problem with it, but he still projects his feelings of hatred towards the scientists that created him onto the human race at large. Kagome moving in will only make it worse.' Jareth mused as he walked into the kitchen to make something to eat.

Chapter 2, Hope all of you liked it and will review, even only to tell me how much you hate the story. Thank all of you for the supportive reviews I have received so far!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kagome tried to hold back tears as she packed. She was only allowed to take her personal items, such as clothes and pictures, and a few items of sentimental value. Like the silver and pink topaz sakura blossom necklace that Inuyasha had given her for their one year anniversary present.

Kagome touched the beautiful necklace fastened around her neck and released her tears. They continued running down her face as she packed her pictures in the box. Christmas, Valentines Day, dates at the park when they were in high school, all were packed. Kagome cried harder as she packed the picture album from their wedding day and the 16x18 portrait of her in her wedding kimono and him in traditional clothing.

She smiled through her tears. Inuyasha looked kinda awkward in his bright red suikan and hakama, but happy.

Her smile faded. That day was probably the last time he was really happy. Soon after he fell in with the wrong kind of friends who introduced him to the pleasures of western style gambling. Even when Rin contracted cancer it didn't enter into his new world of dice and cards. She was shocked when she turned up pregnant since Inuyasha spent more nights out at the casinos than at home. Sesshoumaru cut him off from the family money when Rin died, blaming Inuyasha in his sick and twisted mind. But that didn't change Inuyasha's habits at all. Instead, it made him even more drawn to the tables trying to win a fortune.

Kagome was shocked when she was approached right after her husband's funeral by his debtors. She didn't realize how much they were relying on Inuyasha's 'friends' for the very food they put into their mouths. Now her home, her belongings, almost everything of value was taken to repay those debts. If her husband's brother hadn't called with an offer of a place to stay and to pay the remaining debts after the house was sold then she would be on the street, begging for food for herself and her soon to be born child.

A ghost of a smile crossed her lips as she thought about her baby. She knew the child would be born half youkai and half miko due to the opposing forces of jaki and reiki within her body. Most miko's could not even bear a demon or part demon child due to the holy reiki within their bodies purifying the fetus, but since Kagome was born with the Shikon no Tama within her body she had equal amounts demonic jaki energy and holy reiki energy. She was the one chosen by the Jewel to become it's immortal protector, the soul of Midoriko giving her all of the knowlege of battle the great Battle Miko had herself from years of defeating demons. She was completely human, but had the healing abilities and life span of the most powerful of demons, which is given to her by the demon within the jewel. This perfect melding of demon and miko is made possible by the peace within the jewel. After a few centuries of fighting, the great demon within the jewel, a Taiyoukai on par with Inu no Taisho (Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father) and Midoriko, the last Battle Miko before Kagome, came to an understanding. They gave their strength and skills to the little miko chosen to be the eternal guardian. The jewel is still a thing of great power, even with the truce of the forces within.

Kagome almost laughed as she thought back to when she was a child and told her parents about the male and female voices within her head. They rushed her to the local psychiatrist at their hospital. Luckily the psychiatrist had been a shrine maiden before going to school and she remembered the legends of the jewel. She ordered an x-ray and saw the jewel present in her heart. She explained to Kagome's parents that she had an ancient, powerful relic within her body and that Kagome would be very unpredictable in regards to her powers. Since Kagome's mother's father was a priest, Yuki (kagome's mother) wasn't as surprised as she would have been had Kagome been born to parents with no history of mikos and houshis. Kagome's parents raised her as best as they could and she received daily training from the spirits of the jewel, both in how to use and in how to hide her powers. After all, I wouldn't do to have all sorts of demons coming after the jewel held within her heart so she learned to mask it's power as well as her own so that she was seen as harmless and no demon would attack her, endangering the jewels discovery.

Kagome shook her head. 'I don't have time to be reminiscing. I need to finish packing and Sesshoumaru's car is waiting for me.'

Kagome put the last of the pictures within the boxes and called for Sesshoumaru's manservant to come and carry them down to the car.

Kagome followed the man out to the car and got in the back seat, sadly looking back at the house that represented the love she held for Inuyasha as the driver started the car and pulled into traffic, carrying her towards her future.

'Just you and I now, pet."' she thought as she gently rubbed the sizeable lump under her clothing that held her entire reason for being, her baby.

Sorry of the extremely short chapters. I just have trouble transitioning from scene to scene within chapters, so when a scene ends I begin a new chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Kagome inhaled a calming breath as she walked down the path that lead to Sesshoumaru's castle. She gently rubbed her seven and a half month along belly as she walked towards the door where three intimidating examples of exquisite manhood awaited her. She checked her aura again for any tell tale signs of demon jaki and any holy reiki that was above a normal shrine maiden's. A small amount of reiki was expected in her as the descendant of a long line of miko's and shinto priest's and as a child raised on shrine grounds. But she was so much more powerful than any other priestess in her line. She did have Midoriko's powers in addition to her own. So she was careful to disguise her true powers. She did not want to reveal all of her powers to any of them. She didn't even tell Inuyasha about the jewel's presence within her.

Sephiroth watched the human walk up the path. He felt something stir within him that he never felt before. He was astonished that he did not feel contempt directed at her as he did for every other human on the planet. Maybe it was her blue-black hair, long thick and just begging for his touch. Maybe it was her body, curvaceous and perfect for cradling him as he rocked into her...whoa! he gave himself a mental slap. He did not need to be thinking such perverted thoughts about the pregnant human widow of the half human brother of Sesshoumaru. His own honor would be stained by such an act so long as she was under his brother's protection.

He was drawn out of his thoughts by her greeting to all of them. Sesshoumaru said "This is Kagome." to his brothers, and barely brushed fingers with the hand she extended for him to shake in greeting. When she extended the same to Jareth, he let loose his smooth charming smile and took the hand into his own and pressed a kiss on the back of it. "My name is Jareth, a prince of the fae." he said in his pleasing baritone. 'Damn him and his genteel court manners.' Sephiroth thought. Manners of that kind are impressed by years of experience amongst the glittering throng of the rich and powerful. Sesshoumaru and Jareth both were products of that blood. Sephiroth himself was an experiment, a result of callous and cold human scientists wanting to see what would become of a human when blended with the DNA of the calamity that fell from the sky. He never had any training that didn't include sticking an enemy with his sword.

Kagome smiled and gently extracted her hand from the honey blond, elegant man in front of her. Her fingers tingled at the textile memory of the fine leather of his glove rubbing against her fingers. Leather has always been a weakness of hers. She turned to the dour man standing next to him, and was struck by his eyes. Pale blue, they held such a mixture of pain, self-loathing, and hatred that her breath was quite taken away. She felt the strangest urge to reach out to him, to comfort him.

Sesshoumaru brought her out of her near trance. "Yuki will show you to your rooms." he waited for her to nod indicating that she understood. "As for your life living here, I don't really care what you do while you are here, so long as you don't inflict the others with your presence."

She frowned. "if we live together, how can I not be around the others?"

He looked superciliously at her. "Jareth and Sephiroth are staying in the guest wing, while I have put you in the family wing. As soon as the remodels are done on his pavilion, or guest house, Sephiroth will return there and you will not inflict him with your presence. Jareth, however will remain in the main keep so keep out of his way. I will not have the peaceful operations of this house disrupted by you. You and your child may stay here until I take a mate of my own. At which time you and your child will be left to your own devices, never to approach me again." That his own child would take precedence over the child of a hanyou did not need to be spoken.

Her face tightened, but she nodded. Her mother has already offered her a place at the shrine, since she is the only one out of her siblings that really wanted to become a miko or a priest. But, her unborn child is the heir of the Taisho family assets and will need to be trained in the traditions just in case such a time comes that the child will have to control them. She did not want to take away anything from her child, and the Taisho family is very powerful. She had hoped that Sesshoumaru would not cast her baby out of the family as soon as he/she was not needed as he had Inuyasha, but apparently that was not to be.

Sephiroth heard Sesshoumaru saying that, in effect, if he took a mate and had a child this lovely woman would be left out in the cold. He was surprised that his brother would be so cold towards a woman who was once family and against his own blood resting within her womb. At that moment, a small seed of doubt about his brother's total righteousness was planted.

Jareth also looked at Sesshoumaru in surprise. He had known that Sesshoumaru had despised Inuyasha, his blood brother, but he did not think that the hatred was enough that he would throw honor out of the window and tell his brother's grieving, pregnant widow that she was out on the curb as soon as he had his own heir. That was a little extreme in his opinion.

Yuki approached silently. "Yuki, you will show Kagome to her room. I am sure she is tired from the journey." Sesshoumaru said. He didn't care, he just wanted her out of the way.

Kagome nodded with a heavy heart and followed the little rat youkai to her room. She would be just as lonely here as she was in the house she had once shared with Inuyasha.

"So it seems that I am to be a prisoner while I am here, fearing to leave my room for 'inflicting my presence' on any of the men here." she said bitterly. She forgot about the superior hearing demons had.

"Miss, you are allowed to go out. Master has set up a bank account for your personal needs. He has said that the less time you spend here the better." the servant informed her.

"That is all well and good for now, but what happens when Sesshoumaru takes a mate? My baby and I will be left out in the cold. I could take over my parent's shrine, but that only yields so much money, and it is in debt. I don't know what else to do though." she said, succumbing to fear of the future and pregnancy hormones. Tears started running down her face.

The little rat youkai bit her lip, looking nervous as she was about to overstep her bounds in a major way. But, the poor little miko sobbing in front of her inspired her pity.

"Perhaps you could use the money to pay back what is owed on this shrine. The bank account's credit is quite extensive and if you do it a little at a time the master might not notice."

Kagome ceased her tears and looked up at the servant in surprise. Seeing the sympathy in the warm brown eyes of the rat youkai, she smiled though her tears. Maybe her time here will

not be spent in loneliness after all.

any questions just leave a review.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I say, do you really think that she deserved such cold treatment? She is just a human, but she deserves some lenience for being family at least. Then, there is also the fact that she is carrying the heir, for now, of your family fortune." Jareth said as they walked to Sesshoumaru's office.

Sesshoumaru looked at him. "She is a human woman. She and her entire race are nothing but grasping insects, concerned with nothing but wealth and status. Status she already has, and with the bank account I set up for her the wealth aspect should be taken care of so she should not try to whore herself out to us. Not that I would think any of us would fall to her 'charms', with her disgustingly pregnant body." (AN: I don't think that pregnant women look disgusting, but Sesshoumaru is going to be a prissy, arrogant jerk in this one.)

Sephiroth sat to the side, silent. He was anything but silent in his head though.

'She is so vulnerable, and Sesshoumaru being Sesshoumaru will not help things.'

'**Wait, don't you hate all humans? Don't you remember that the sorry state you're in is the fault of humans? Don't you despise them for being weak?'**

'But she seems different. I can just feel something from her that makes me not hate her. I can't blame her for the faults of all humans.'

'**She is human, and that will not change. She must bear the faults of her species just as every other human must.'**

'She seems kind. Not the type to play with other's emotions.'

Sephiroth was brought out of his internal debate when Sesshoumaru spoke. "I wish to commend you for a job well done. I was able to regain my business back and sue the company Takaru Tsukiru had owned for quite the nice sum. Job well done, both of you."

"Wait. I thought the only reason we had to go to such lengths was because we had no proof. You can't sue without proof." Jareth said.

Sesshoumaru seemed surprised. (Not that anyone else could tell. His pupils dilated slightly and his mouth twitched about a quarter of a millimeter.) "Gentlemen, I can not believe that I still have to sugarcoat the actions you both undertake to keep my...our...business at the top. I believed that the both of you will have left old-fashioned ideals like honor behind."

This was the wrong thing to say to both of them. Honor was the only thing they had left. The sidhe can never knowingly lie, or their magic could turn against them. As for Sephiroth, his personal brand of honor has been the only thing that has allowed him to have any sense of self-worth. The news that the man they view as a brother has been responsible for lessening that honor was a hard blow to both of them.

But, the honor of remaining with the man that they owed a debt to outweighed the dishonor of them unknowingly betraying their personal honor. They would just have to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the men and women they betray deserve it before they make a move. No longer will they be pawns in Sesshoumaru's game.

"If we can get off the subject of out-dated ideals such as honor, we can go on with our business. Sephiroth, if you will remember Jareth expressed his curiosity about why you have only aged about four years in the two decades you have both been here. You submitted your DNA for analysis by our scientists about a year ago, and I have the results."

Sesshoumaru seated himself behind his desk. 'Even after all of this time he still needs to hold himself in a position of power over us.' Jareth mused as he and Sephiroth seated themselves in the chairs in front of the desk.

"Sephiroth, the alien genes within your DNA is extending you life and slowing your aging. But, the scientists theorize that since you are no longer on your planet being exposed to the trace alien genes in the air on your planet left over from Jenova's crash, your aging will speed up. In a few short years, your aging will be human fast. You will still have the strength and abilities tied into your genes by the experiments, but the side effects like long life and speed healing will fade into nothingness." Sesshoumaru said expressionlessly.

Sephiroth stood still. His life was about to end, in the blink of an eye to the immortal demon and sidhe that he was close to. He could now appreciate the feelings humans felt when contemplating their end.

Jareth stood up. He was in so much pain. Now, the one of the only people in the world that still stayed with him was going to die soon. Sure, he would have a few years but then he will get old and die in next to no time. This news, on top of the arrival of the woman that reminded him so much of the innocent Sarah, before he showed her her dreams and taught her to distrust, sent him away.

He sought escape in a recently found interest of his. Rave clubs. Only the high class ones, of course.

He excused himself from his brothers. Sephiroth still seemed shocked, and Sesshoumaru merely nodded.

He went to his room to change. He looked at his opulent surroundings. His carpet of the softest, deepest forest green stretched from wall to wall. All of his furniture was done in mahogany and black. His king sized bed was a sea of black and green pillows and satin sheets. He removed the three piece suit he had on, and took a shower.

He got out of the shower and walked in nothing but his towel to his walk in closet. First, a pair of tight black leather pants, buttery soft. Next, a red long sleeved poet style shirt. He then put on his thigh high boots. They went up his legs, lacing up the back, like a corset, with red lacings. His last accessories was a pair of thin black leather gloves and a thick silver chain with a carved barn owl pendant. He used mousse to spike up his chin length pale gold hair and a red headband to hold it back. He was ready to leave.

He checked his watch as he walked to his black Lexus and started it up. 'Nine o'clock. Perfect.' he thought as he drove to his favorite club, 'Lost in Delusions' and parked. He walked past the long line of people and greeted the bouncer. He nodded, and said "greetings Mr. Lucius. You can go right in." as he moved aside.

Jareth nodded to the bouncer as he entered the club. Jareth walked into an almost solid wall of sound. He smiled. Just what he needed. Driving industrial-techno sound, barely dressed bodies writhing on the dance floor, and a well-stocked bar. All well equipped to offer an escape from his life.

He walked up to the second floor where the bar and seating areas were located, declining to notice the attention he was attracting. Several women, and some men, looked with lust at the skin tight leather stretched across the luscious butt of the blond man. One woman looked with shock. She knew that butt. 'Jareth, have I finally found you?'

He studied the people dancing as he placed an order for a Bloody Mary. The flashing lights illuminated the dancers, losing themselves in the music. He sipped his drink. 'Ahh, spicy. Just the way I like it.' he thought.

"Hey, I could feel your eyes from the dance floor. What say we get to know each other better." A sultry voice whispered in his ear. He froze with shock. He hasn't heard a voice this beautiful since he left the sidhe courts.

His grip on his drink tightened. 'Alana' the mere thought of her name brought memories of the little half siren, half sidhe sorceress he had left behind when he became the Goblin King. The swirling mercury eyes, the black hair streaked with ocean blue, her seductive voice cutting other pompous fey down with a rapier wit, he missed her for all of it. He had forgotten her when he left for the labyrinth, but she was his closest friend in the courts when he was younger. She was yet another thing to add to the list of things he's lost.

He spun to see who it was that dared bring up memories of his loss. He froze in shock. But for the eyes and hair, she was almost identical to Alana. Her blue eyes looked at him with curiosity and a hint of lust and her black hair was brought up in spiky pigtails. She was wearing a pair of ripped turquoise tights and a short black leather skirt with a white t-shirt that was also ripped. Her turquoise bra was visible through the thin material of the t-shirt, and she had a pair of high heeled black strappy sandals on.

"Sure." Jareth said. She smiled and ordered a raspberry martini. "So, what's your name?" she asked. She received her drink and took a sip. "Jareth Lucius." he replied. She choked on her drink and turned to him with wide eyes. "It is you. Finally"she said in awe and relief.

"Do I know you?" he said, kinda annoyed with the over the top reactions she was giving him but still fascinated by her resemblance to his friend.

"Yes you do." She checked her watch and widened her eyes at the time. "I have to go, but can you meet me here next Friday, this time?"

"Sure but-"

"Gotta go. I will explain everything then." she said as she hurried away.

He shook his head. 'Human women. I don't know why I find them so interesting.' he thought to himself as he returned to looking at the bevy of interesting humans below him.


	6. Chapter 6

Conversations

One week later

Sesshoumaru studied Jareth. Jareth was sitting in his computer room, part of his suite in the castle. Jareth's suite included a sitting room for guests done in shades of red with four doors leading from it. One door was his bedroom, which also contained his opulent bathroom, the other a walk in closet connected to his bedroom almost as big as his sitting room ('cause we all know Jareth is a clothes whore), and the last is his computer room. That room consisted of two fifteen inch monitors set on a desk, and about four of the biggest, high tech monitors not on the market yet developed by Taisho corp, each showing a different website. it had about five different keyboards, different mouses, about twelve CPU's, a networking station, and enough wire to stretch from the moon and back.

Jareth was just sitting in his supremely comfortable rolling computer chair. He was resting his chin on his gloved hands and appeared to be just staring into space. Sesshoumaru frowned. That is all his brother-like figure has been doing for the last week. 'Ever since he went to the club after I announced Sephiroth's imminent death.' Since both Sesshoumaru and Jareth were immortal, they did not get too attached to mortals, and the primary reason was sitting there like a lump. When faced with the reality of imminent death of a close friend or loved one, the immortal, whose emotions and attachments were deeper then ordinary, fell into a depression.

Sesshomaru could only think that the reason his number one computer whiz was doing nothing was because of depression about Sephiroth's speeding aging and subsequent death in a few decades.

Jareth turned around. His violet/blue gaze rose to meet Sesshoumaru's golden eyes. He rose and walked out of the open door to curl up on a crimson chaise lounge. Sesshoumaru took a seat opposite him, the deep crimson framing his white hair and skin to perfection.

"You seem to be troubled, brother." Sesshoumaru stated.

"Yes. I must confess that I am most curious about a woman I met last week. She appears to be merely human, but her resemblence to a very old, close friend of mine is uncanny. And so, I am overcome with memories." Jareth confessed.

Sesshoumaru was slightly surprised that his hypothesis was so far off base.

"Why do you allow a wench to distract you so?"

"She said that she knew me. I am most curious about a human woman who so resembles one of my dearest friends from the Sidhe court and confesses to know me. We have arranged to meet later tonight."

"Very well. Have you completed hacking the Kazaana corp database? They are in a very good position for a takeover and their assests would be of great benefit to us."

Jareth looked at Sesshoumaru with a blank face, but felt annoyance on the inside. 'I thought when we became co-CEO's of Sesshoumaru's that he would quit treating us as employees. But he still feels the need to control Sephiroth and I.' "No, I have not completed the job. I am very close, but their coding is spectacular, superior to anything I have seen outside my own computers." He replied.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Inform me when you are finished. Enjoy yourself tonight." he said as he rose and walked out of Jareth's suite. Jareth shook his head and went to shower.

meanwhile, in the kitchen

Kagome poured the oatmeal she prepared into a bowl and added a generous helping of chocolate syrup. She set the bowl beside the plate with the pickles and oranges on the island in the middle of the island and sat on a stool. 'Pregnancy is hell.' she thought as she dug her spoon into the oatmeal. She was enjoying her treat when Sephiroth walked in.

She looked up in surprise. She did not think that one of the masters of the house would eat in the kitchen, much less prepare his own dinner. She watched as he took out a pot and set water to boil. He took a large skillet and tossed in some pieces of cubed beef and added bourbon, various herbs and powdered sesame seeds(1. See below). He poured rice into the boiling water and resumed stirring the beef and bourbon. Kagome alternated watching this beautiful creature cook and eating her own concoction.

"Do you have a problem? Why are you staring at me?" Sephiroth startled Kagome when he spoke. She looked from his muscled back, perfectly outlined by his tight black wife beater, to meet his cold eyes. She shook her head in the negative. "I am just so surprised to see a man cook. Inuyasha could barely boil water." She said.

He snorted. "I thought that you were above such stereotypes. I am quite a good cook, thank you very much." He said as he drained the rice and put it on a plate. He then poured the beef and bourbon sauce on top. He carried his plate to the table and sat on the other stool.

"How interesting." Kagome said. She always appreciated someone who ignored stereotypes.

"Allow me to prove it." He said as he held out a forkfull of the rice for her to try. "It should be better than chocolate oatmeal."

"Pregnancy cravings, you know." she said. She opened her mouth for Sephiroth to insert the fork. "Mm. I think I have a new craving." she said as the flavors hit her tongue. She licked her lip to catch a little of the sauce. His eyes followed the movement, spell-bound for a moment. He gave himself a mental shake and turned his attention to his meal.

"So, Sephiroth, where are you from?" She said to break the silence.

"And why should I tell you?" he said coldly.

"You don't have to. I have just been so lonely for so long. Even after I married Inuyasha, he was gone all the time. I just need someone besides Midoriko and Tailin to talk to." Her eyes widened and her heart almost stopped at what she had revealed. 'Crap! I told him about the spirits of the jewel!'

(Bold is Tailin, and Bold w/Underline is Midoriko.)

'**Don't worry Kagome. This one is meant to know. He is honorable and strong. He will not try to take advantage of you or tell others.'** The bass voice of the demon within the jewel, Tailin, said.

'But I thought that it would be dangerous for anyone with power, and this man has a lot of power, to know about. You said that they would slice open my heart to retrieve the jewel and use it for themselves.' Kagome thought in confusion.

'**You are the jewel. The perfect balance of the four forces, and the contrast of demon and miko, are present in your body. You are the living expression of the crystal within your heart. That is why our reki and our jaki is able to express itself in your powers. That is why you are immortal. If you were merely it's guardian, it would sit in your heart as it has in all of your ancestors. You would not be able to access it's powers. But, since we are able to express ourselves in you the crystal itself is no longer powerful. It is merely a resting place for our spirits instead of the talisman of power it was.' **Midoriko said.

'**That is why you need a protector. Since you are the jewel, if you were taken or consumed by a demon that demon would have immeasurable power. We taught you how to defend yourself and conceal the jewel's power until you found someone worthy of knowing the secret and protecting yourself.'** Tailin added.

'But, why do I need protection. I have been doing just fine so far, I haven't needed anyone else.'

Kagome pointed out.

'**Because up till recently we have been able to help you shield your powers. But, your powers are increasing quite a bit, and we will not be able to shield the power. In addition to that, I can feel a new threat to the jewel. That is why you must tell the warrior the truth of us and your power, so he can help you protect yourself.'** Midoriko explained.

This mental conversation took place only in seconds. Sephiroth was somewhat taken aback by the emotions flying across the woman's face. Anxiety, confusion, annoyance, and realization.

"Sephiroth, I realize that you come from an interesting place, so I hope the story I am about to tell you doesn't come as too much of a shock." Kagome began.

"How do you have any idea where I come from, human?" Sephiroth interrupted.

"By listening at doors. You and your 'brothers' really should look into paying more attention to your surroundings." Kagome said casually.

A faint smile graced his lips. 'I like this girl, she has spunk.' Sephiroth thought.

"Listen to me now, I have something to tell you." she said. She told him all about the jewel, the spirits within it, and her training in how to use and conceal the power of the jewel, as well as the miko and demon powers she received from it as he ate his bourbon beef.

"So, I am supposed to help protect you, the immortal representation of the jewel of four souls?" He said after she was done.

"Yes."

"Well, your spirits messed up when they chose me. I am going to die relatively soon, and I see no point in spending my little remaining time here. I want to explore the world a little before I die."

Kagome's eyes widened. She tried not to feel hurt by his blunt words, but was unsuccessful. Sephiroth's sharp eyes noticed the flash of pain she quickly covered, and felt bad for his sharp words.

"Kagome, I will protect you as well as I can while I am here, but I will leave soon. Sesshoumaru recently told me that although I have slowed aging while I am here, I will soon begin aging as a human. The alien DNA within my body is deteriorating on this planet, and cannot supplement itself as it could on my planet. Soon I will be old and decrepit. Do you really think that I will be able to help you defend yourself then? And besides, if there will be so much power that two spirits that are as powerful as you described them cannot shield it then why can you not take care of the threats yourself?"

"Because while I am trained as much as I can be in the abilities that I inherited from Tailin and Midoriko I am not formally trained in battle. I have had no one to physically train me, since that requires another person to do so and there has been no one that the spirits or me have trusted enough to tell the secret to besides my parents."

Sephiroth was curious. "What kind of abilities did you inherit from the spirits?" he asked.

Kagome smiled. "I have the ability to imbue any weapon with my reiki, the ability to read aura's and purification from Midoriko. I also have a few energy based attacks from Tailin like the light whip, blades of wind, and the ability to use an enemy's aura against them."

"How can you turn a person's aura against them? For that matter, what exactly is an aura?" (AN: I am taking several liberties here. I really don't know a lot about auras)

"A person's aura is a field of the person's energy that surrounds them. If one could read aura's then the color and intensity would tell much about the person's personality, emotions, and power level. I can take that energy field and turn it against the person by making it pierce the person with what feels like a thousand knives or I can make it burn around the person like fire, or I can constrict it around the throat and choke an enemy to death. That is only a small example of what I can do with aura's, or any of my powers. Tailin and Midoriko were the most powerful beings of their time and I have all of their power, plus that with which I was born."

Sephiroth looked at her with shock. One of the most powerful women, no, beings in the world and Sesshoumaru treats her as little better than dirt?

Neither noticed the dark shadow that stood in the doorway through their conversation turn and walk away.

AN:

1. Though bourbon chicken does exist, this is not the way I imagine one would prepare it. This is a fictitious dish that I came up with off the top of my head. I like beef, bourbon seemed like a good liquor, and I picture the powered seeds as a kind of flour to act as a thickening agent. If someone braver than I tries to make this dish, tell me how it turns out, please.


	7. Chapter 7

Music throbbed around her. Drawing her into the web of notes and bodies. Her body twisting, writhing around her chosen partner. Male, female, young, old, it didn't matter. It never mattered to her about the identity of her partner, only that they were there. She never even opened her eyes as she danced. As Blutengel's song 'Angels of the Dark' pounded out of the speakers, Alana moved to the beat. Only missed a single beat when her partners changed, but then again, the partner never mattered.

But this time, it did. With this new person, the energy she was feeding off of increased dramatically. The person forcefully inserted his/her self into the dance, forcing Alana to take her partner into account. Hips grinding, breath being traded between the two breathing harshly as they moved in the dance. A tight grip on her hip as she moved in the steps of an intricate dance designed to build energy and siphon it into the siren.

It was jarring when the song ended, even when it just moved into another song. Alana opened her eyes to look into the eyes of the person she was dancing with. This was always interesting, seeing the person that lent their energy to her when she danced. She was not expecting the dual-colored eyes of the person she was building courage up to meet.

"I believe that we should continue this meeting someplace quieter." Jareth whispered in Alana's ear. "And maybe you can explain to me why you, a mortal girl, can use the sorceress dance to siphon energy from the surroundings." he whispered even lower, causing a shiver of fear and desire to go through her. She nodded.

Alana sat in the small corner coffee shop, feeling terribly out of place in her club clothes. Jareth, on the other hand, looked perfectly at ease, even in the silver and grey poet shirt and leather pants he was sporting.

"Now, I believe someone offered me answers." He said.

Alana nervously twisted her fingers under the booth. She was granted a small reprieve when a waitress came by for their order.

"I will have coffee, accompanied by sugar and milk." Jareth ordered.

"I will have the same with a slice of the peach pie I see." Alana said. When she glanced at Jareth, she could see that he knew what she ordered had significance, but denied what that significance was. She sighed. It would have to be the long explanation then.

She carefully looked around. There was only one other person in the café, and he was on the other side of the room. "Well, I am not totally human. Or human at all, for that matter." She blurted. His eyes widened, then narrowed.

"Perhaps you can tell me why you look so familiar then. If you are not human, what are you?"

"Fae." She said, hoping to see a spark of memory in his eyes, a spark that meant their time together wasn't forgotten. His dual colored eyes widened in realization. "Sidhe. But not just sidhe, right?" He said, half-forgotten memories swirling in his head. "Alana." he breathed.

She smiled. It was the same quirky smile from all of those centuries ago. "It's been awhile, hasn't it Jareth?" She said, allowing the glamour to fall from her eyes momentarily to confirm her identity. Only sorcerers and sorceresses had silver eyes, and only siren (and part siren) had the white-less, pupil-less eyes. Her eyes were unique in all the courts.

Jareth smiled and swiftly stood, bringing Alana up into a hug. He buried his face in her hair, worn loose tonight, and breathed in her scent of oceans and magic. He felt her arms come up and wrap around his torso like a vise, so tight.

"Oh, Jareth, I have missed you so. When you left, there was nothing left in the courts for me." Alana breathed, hardly daring to believe that she was here, holding her friend from so long ago.

"Alana, why are you here? Why are you not subjecting the courts to your sharp tongue and rapier wit?" Jareth asked as he brought his chin to rest on her head.

"You know how they feel about half breeds. Right after you left, withdrawing the protection of the future Goblin King, the court turned against me, especially when I manifested a new talent." she explained.

"Yes, a new talent. What are your talents?" he asked, voice filling with inuenndo, but honestly wanting to know.

She smirked as he released her and they sat back down. "Still the same old Jareth. In addition to being able to change the world around me by voice, I gained the Sorceress' Dance. The courts feared me, now that I can do practically anything. My ability to affect substance was only hampered by my personal energy reserves. When I gained the ability to triple them through the Dance, the courts decided that I was too much of a danger and exiled me. They said that this would keep me from growing any more powerful, as my mate will be fae and as such forbidden to me." she said, tears welling up in her eyes as she said the last.

Jareth's face fell as he fully realized the trouble his friend was in. Sirens only had one mate, and their full power wasn't realized until they found him or her. And, the longer a siren has to go without a mate after they come into majority, the more emotionless they become and the more they change. The sirens from the Grecian legends were all sirens that lived most of their lives without their mate, and so became birds with the head of a woman, even though siren's can be either sex. Their beautiful voices remained, to try and lure their mate to them in hopes of changing back to human form. The sea was the only thing that kept them half-sane, and they feel the call to go to the sea when they are close to completely changing.

"How close are you to changing?" Jareth asked seriously. Alana gave a sad half smile. "All that have come is the wings." she said.

Jareth gave a small start. "But I left the courts centuries ago. If you have been exiled since then, you should be almost entirely bird and feeling the call of the sea." he said.

"Not if I knew who my mate was." Alana whispered. Jareth sat there in shock. There was no way for what he suspected to be possible...was there?


	8. Chapter 8

Don't kill me! I have two updates, sooo sorry for the delay.

Chapter 8

"Who?" Jareth asked, half jealous and half depressed thinking that Alana already knew who her mate was. Then she would have no use for him, for getting to know him again, or staying up days just talking and teasing the visiting diplomats once all in the court had grown used to the two trouble makers.

'But we aren't at court any longer. We can't tease diplomats or fellow court members anymore, ever again. Will we still be close?' he mournfully contemplated a time not being able to get to know Alana again, seeing how she changed in the long centuries apart from her kind.

"You idiot. If you think my mate is anyone other than you then I need to have my magic's sanity checked. Not that magic is sentient, but anything that could choose such a-" her rant was cut off mid-complaint by the smooth lips of Jareth meeting her own. She gave a tiny moan and enjoyed what she's been craving for the last two, three hundred years.

"I am not an idiot, most of the time. And your magic must be the most intelligent, non-sentient force out there, since it chose me as a mate." Jareth boasted. She gave her sweetly familiar smile and laughed.

"I waited so long to hear those words." she said before dragging his head down for another mind-blowing kiss. This time Jareth decided to indulge his goblin, feral side a bit. Alana let loose the most beautiful moan when Jareth's sharp teeth bit into the plump flesh of her bottom lip.

Jareth licked the drop of blood that welled up. He threw back his head at the taste of her blood. He tasted the ocean for a brief moment before Alana lost control and sank her own teeth into his collarbone and licked his blood. Then a wave of magic came crashing down on them, almost sending them to the floor with the sheer power.

Alana gasped as she felt the tendrils weaving their souls together. Jareth twisted his hands into her hair, pulling her closer to him, as if he could absorb her into his body. Jareth panted as he felt the welcoming touch of another's magic entwining with his, never to be apart.

Jareth drove home in a fog. He and Alana had almost consummated to bond then and here. Unfortunatly, they had to come down off the magic high when the café owner threatened to call the police for indecent behavior in public. They both came to their senses and went to their prospective homes to think before finishing what will be an eternal bond. 'How can I have a mate? Especially one who I was around all the time when I was younger.' he mused to himself. He wasn't taking into account that Alana's powers, and thus her need for her mate, didn't mature until after he went to the Labyrinth.

'I really like her, but do I really know her anymore? Do I wish to place my faith and future in the hands of another woman, and trust in love? But what if she is another Sarah? I cannot focus. I need to talk to Sephiroth.'

Indeed, though it may seem strange for the sidhe to be going to a man who has vehemently proclaimed he did not believe in love, Sephiroth was good at cutting away the dross and revealing the true core of any problem. Sesshoumaru was better at focusing on the heart of the matter, but knowing the cold demon's attitudes towards emotions of any type made Jareth leery of going to him. And Jareth noticed the looks Sephiroth has been sending the lovely Kagome this past week. So it was Sephiroth Jareth decided to turn to in his confusion.

After parking his car, Jareth went to his brother's temporary rooms. This does not mean they were any less luxurious than his own, though. After passing the sitting room, with silver furniture and black walls, he knocked and entered his brother's bedroom. The expanse of sapphire blue carpet lead to the bed, where sheets of silver and the black comforter were wrapped around a man who was obviously in distress.

"Sephiroth" Kagome whispered in his ear. Her fingers danced across his shoulders from behind, and Sephiroth bit back a moan.

"You know you want me." she said as she came from behind him. Sephiroth gulped as he beheld the vision of beauty before him. Slim waist, full hips, long legs, all designed to torment a man into insanity. He roughly grabbed the vision of loveliness in front of him.

"Sephiroth." she sighed as their lips met in a ferocious kiss.

"Back off, you bastard!" he heard a masculine voice say as he was roughly pushed back.

"What?" Kagome's feminine features morphed into the more masculine ones of Jareth.

"I said, back off!" Jareth said as he scrambled out of the bed.

"Jareth, what are you doing here?" Sephiroth said as he stared at his brother, clearing the sleep from his mind.

"I came to ask for advice when suddenly I was dragged into what was apparently your fantasy. I do not need to know you that intimately!" Jareth said as he turned his back and gestured blindly towards Sephiroth's lap.

"Oh, sorry." he muttered in embarrassment as he flicked the covers over his raging erection.

"You know, I think I will wait in the sitting room. Please, cover up. I really didn't need to feel that much about you." Jareth said as he stalked from the room. Sephiroth rolled his eyes as he put on some pajama pants. Jareth was such a prima dona.

"What is so important that you would come into my rooms unannounced at..." he checked the clock sitting on the sitting room table, "three o'clock in the morning?" Sephiroth said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I have met my mate." Jareth said, still unable to look at the warrior.

"And what is the problem?" Sephiroth said, walking over to Jareth and shoving him down into a chair and sitting across from him.

"She used to be my best friend. But I don't know if we should rush into anything. I mean, I haven't seen her in centuries, and we almost did the vertical tango on the floor of an anonymous coffee house. So forgive me if I don't think that my mind is at it's clearest."

"Well, invite her here and get to know her again. We can act as 'chaperones' if you need such a thing. Besides, I think Kagome is getting lonely anyway. To be holding a civil conversation with me after the 'talk' that Sesshoumaru gave her a week ago she must be pretty desperate." Sephiroth said, letting slip the real reason he was so eager to get another female in here.

Jareth smirked. "Whipped already then?" was all he had time to say before he was grabbed by the throat and held three inches off the floor by an irate SOLDIER.

"What was that?" Sephiroth hissed at the sidhe who obviously had a death wish, saying such things to him.

Jareth just smiled. "Whipped." he choked out. Sephiroth just growled and released him. Jareth slumped to the floor. "Go call your female and get her over here. The sidhe are a race of warriors, right? Females included?" Jareth nodded.

"Then she can help guard Kagome." Sephiroth declared, a tinge of worry lighting his eyes.

"And why would the lovely Kagome need guarding?" Jareth said, perking up as he detected a secret.

"None of your business, Kagome will tell you when she wants you to know." he growled.

Jareth just smirked and got up, brushing off his club clothes as if nothing had happened and a large alien hadn't just nearly killed him. "I will just go and wake the lovely Kagome so she can meet Alana..." Sephiroth cuffed him upside the head.

"Kagome doesn't need to be woken now, especially by crazy, love-sick fairies!" Sephiroth said as he shoved Jareth towards the doors.

"I resent that! It is my cousins that are the fairies, I am a fae, a sidhe to be exact!" Jareth protested as he was thrown from the rooms.

"The bedroom beside Kagome's is open." Sephiroth shot back as he slammed the door. "And I wouldn't mind meeting your mate I guess." Jareth heard muffled by the thick door. He smiled. 'That's my brother.' he thought as he went to find a phone to call Alana.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

two weeks later

"I don't see how I let you convince me to stay here." Alana said as she and Jareth walked up the stairs. All of her glamours were gone, so her black hair was streaked with ocean blue and her eyes were solid orbs of swirling mercury.

"You love me, and so you want to get to know my family." Jareth jokingly replied. Alana rolled her eyes. "I swear, you are even more juvenile than when we were children. Did you ever grow up?" she muttered.

"For a while, but then I decided that there was no point in me being grown up if I could annoy my brother's with my childishness." he replied lightly, opening the door and leading her into the foyer.

Alana rolled her eyes again before looking at her mate's family. There were three of them up there, two men and a woman. She noticed that the shorter man of the group, the one with stripes on his cheeks, was standing apart from the other two. The other man, with cold blue eyes, was standing between the other man and the petite, black haired woman. 'he looks protective. I guess that he is just as protective of pregnant mates as my kind are.' she thought.

Jareth grabbed her hand as they approached the group. "Sesshoumaru, this is Alana, my soul mate." he introduced her to the tall demon.

"Charmed." Sesshoumaru said coldly as he barely squeezed her hand before dropping it as if it would infect him with an incurable disease. He turned and walked out the door to the driveway and the waiting car. A hint of anger flickered in both of the sidhe's eyes before Jareth brought her over to Sephiroth.

"And this is my brother Sephiroth. And this enchanting little morsel beside him is my soon to be sister in law Kagome." Jareth said teasingly.

"I am not! I mean...he... I...he hasn't...you jerk!" Kagome exclaimed as she stuttered her response to his teasing, putting her hands on her hips and glaring up at the taller man.

"Jareth, I am sure you would not want your mate to witness bloodshed at this early stage of our introduction." Sephiroth growled, almost blushing at the insinuation that he was Kagome's husband. 'not that I would complain too much' he thought. He folded his arms over his chest and glared at the shorter fae male. Jareth just copied his pose and smiled back, enjoying his game of 'egg on the extraterrestrial'.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the males. She reached out and shook Alana's hand. "Hi, I am Kagome. Ignore these two, death threats are their main entertainment."

"Yeah, I seem to remember a certain pixie diplomat that Jareth threatened to feed to his goblins once he became king if he insulted me again. All in good fun of course." she said, turning and poking Jareth in the side, breaking his concentration on staring Sephiroth down.

"Hey, I would have mercifully killed him before feeding him to my subjects. So I don't see the problem." he said, turning his nose up. Alana watched Kagome laugh, just sensing the hidden sadness behind the laughter. Brimming with curiosity, she set out to be totally rude by human standards.

"So, who are you if you are not Sephiroth's wife? Are you Sesshoumaru's wife?" Alana asked with the typical bluntness of the fae. Kagome just grinned, well used to sidhe bluntness after living with Jareth for almost a month.

"Sesshoumaru is my brother in law by way of his deceased brother, Inuyasha. I am living here since my child is the heir to Taisho family." she said, putting her hand on her eight month along stomach.

"Nice to meet you." Alana replied. 'This excessively perky woman would probably make a good friend. I feel the need to protect her, and I detect hidden depths. She can keep me entertained for many months, trying to unravel her.' she thought before turning her attention to the cold-appearing, intimidating man.

"I am Sephiroth. Your belongings have been placed in the room beside Kagome's until this overgrown child gets his act together and mates you. It is my hope that you will use your skills to help protect Kagome, as she is merely human." Sephiroth said, oblivious to the glaring death beams shooting from Kagome's eyes at his statement.

'aww, that is so cute! He is worried about her. Maybe he isn't as bad as he appears.' she thought.

"I can defend myself! You both are jerks." Kagome exclaimed as she grabbed Alana's hand. "Come Alana, I will show you your room before we are infected with the stupidity of these two Neanderthals." she said, flicking her free hand towards the men and proceeded to drag Alana into the depths of the house. Alana looked back, mutely begging for help from her mate, for him to rescue her from the hormonal woman, but he just jauntily waved her off before going in the opposite direction accompanied by his brother.

meanwhile, downtown

Sesshoumaru sat behind his massive teak desk, musing on the interesting conversation he had overheard a few weeks ago. 'Immortal representation of the jewel, is she? Then she is far more than a mere human woman.'

"Suck harder." he commanded the intern on her knees in front of him. She looked up at him with eyes clouded by lust and just a touch of fear, and proceeded to give him the finest blow job he has received in the past few months.

"Swallow it all, good. Well ms. Ayame, I do believe that you have earned the position." he said as he unashamedly tucked himself away. "Entry level of course, but with the possibility of advancement. I hope you enjoy your time here with Taisho corps. See ms Kikyo on your way out with any further questions." he said in obvious dismissal. He watched as the little intern hurriedly rose from her knees and rushed out, barely remembering to grab her portfolio as she almost ran out of the room. He adjusted his tie and returned his thoughts to the problem of the overly powerful female living under his roof.

'She will require extra protection. Well, that can be something useful for that female of Jareth's to do while she stays there, and maybe he can get some work done now that he isn't concerned with her anymore. Although why Jareth allowed so much of his concentration to be taken by that...tramp is beyond me.'

He gave a mental shrug and pressed a button on a phone that had so many buttons and switches it resembled the control panel of an airplane. "Ms. Kikyo, I am ready for my three o'clock now."


End file.
